So, I May Have Turned Old Overnight

[Dirk Legume]

MY 19 year old daughter got a tatoo today.

I had told her in the past I was opposed, she did it anyway.

It's fairly tasteful, I guess, but it's my daughter and I hate it.

I ask for no help (it's already permanently on her)...I just vent.

Also, she is mad at me for not liking it when I made it clear ahead of time (last couple of years) that I did not like the idea.

I suppose we will all move on.

 

[dooley_womack1]

She got a pretty tasteful one, I'd say.

 

[imjustagirl]

I expected the cat butt tattoo as the first post. Too bad.

 

[Dirk Legume]

Ijag, me too actually.

I am not sure why it's annoying me quite as much as it has.

The tat is in the center of her back between her shoulder blades...It's a peace sign the size of a drink coaster (maybe a little smaller) surrounded by small flowers, all of which are part of the peace sign. She says she will have two flowers colored in in different colors. One for each of her deceased grandmothers.

Yet, all I see is AAAAAALLLLLLL this ink on her back.

And it will never go away.

 

[imjustagirl]

No, it won't. But she's an adult, and she chose to do it. You can either let it eat at you, or you can figure out how to get past it.

My dad hates mine, but he's forgotten it's there. Odds are you won't see it very often unless she's wearing a tube top or something.

 

[canucklehead]

You can tell her this complete and anonymous stranger thinks it looks stupid

 

[kleeda]

Dirk. Raising boys is enough of a challenge for me. You have my best wishes -- and awe -- with a girl.

 

[OnTheRiver]

I guess I missed cat butt. Someone post it.

 

[sportschick]

I guess I missed cat butt. Someone post it.

Worst. Tat. Ever.

 

[OnTheRiver]

I guess I missed cat butt. Someone post it.

Worst. Tat. Ever.

That's a 13 on the Awesome Scale.

 

[shockey]

i understand your pain, dirk. i also understand the idea that she is an "adult" at 19, although i'm not sure i share that definition -- especially if she is still living at home. is she?

if she's not, if she's out on her own, then yes, she's an adult in my eyes. but if she's still living under your roof and in school, it would bother me, too. one person's adult is another person's teenager.

nothing you can do now, obviously, but nothing wrong with being upset that your baby did this to herself, either.

 

[pseudo]

Uhhh, that cat tat? Wow. Just ... wow.

 

[Pete Incaviglia]

True story:

A friend of mine got a tattoo in ninth grade. It was slightly above his right shoulder blade. He figured his dad would LOSE IT if he ever found it.

So, my friend, an athlete (golf, baseball, football) who was fit (always, I mean ALWAYS had his shirt off in the summer) and ended up working summers in construction kept it hidden from his dad for FIVE YEARS.

He brought shirts to the shower. If he didn't, he'd sling the towel over his shoulder and walk to his room.

After five years, his dad finally saw it. I was there. He didn't know his dad came home early from work. He was sitting on the couch when my buddy came out of the bathroom shirtless.

"When did you get that?" he asked.

"About five years ago," my friend answered.

His dad was floored.

 

[buckweaver]

Where's Frank_Ridgeway when you need him? ;D

Sounds like an elegant tribute, Dirk. I think she'll cherish it and never regret it. My next tat is going to be in part a tribute to my two late grandfathers.

 

[pressboxer]

Part of me wishes I could live long enough that at some point I see a bunch of little kids pestering Granma Brittney to show them her tats. And part of me thinks such has already happened.

 

[This is my username]

I consider it my solemn duty to post the Swayze tat in every thread re: the subject:

 

[User 1019]

Part of me wishes I could live long enough that at some point I see a bunch of little kids pestering Granma Brittney to show them her tats. And part of me thinks such has already happened.

****. Given her apparent lack of parenting skills, it might not be that long.

 

[Highway 101]

The number of tats I have: One
The experience I have of parenting and child-rearing even: None, zero, zip, nada, nil.

The rules I have about tats:
No. 1 and it's the most important —They'd better mean something very special, personal and make you think about the reason you got it in the first place EVERY time you see it, or somebody else sees it.
No. 2 — Be able to explain what it is, and why you got it to your Grandma and you Ma so they (sort of) understand it.
No. 3 — Have it done by a tatoo-artist — not somebody you met in the prison yard — so it looks good. Spend the extra money because it's going to last forever.
No. 4 — Ink it in a place where it's shown when you want to show it off. Example: Show it at a pool party, not a cocktail reception and certainly not a funeral.
No. 5 — Go back to No. 1 — Make it meaningful. "I liked the design," or "I thought it was cute," or "My body is a canvas," doesn't cut it.

Bottom line — keep it classy and it sounds like "Lil' Legume" has done that.

 

[Dirk Legume]

Dirk. Raising boys is enough of a challenge for me. You have my best wishes -- and awe -- with a girl.

Listen, with what you've been through, you win the "Tough Parenting Trophy"

 

[Dirk Legume]

Where's Frank_Ridgeway when you need him? ;D

Sounds like an elegant tribute, Dirk. I think she'll cherish it and never regret it. My next tat is going to be in part a tribute to my two late grandfathers.

It really did seem like a very big deal to her, and I suppose I can respect that. I think it's just the permanance of it that gets me. I'll get over it.

At least it's not cat butt ;D